Blog

I was elated to be part of one of the teams selected in the top 5 finalists for the RBC Next Great Innovator Challenge. Following the announcement, our team banded together to strategize a winning plan of action. We had to take our "RBC+" socially responsible investing solution for using big data to the next level!

When the week of the competition finally arrived, I think my team members and I were all both nervous and excited. The anticipation grew in the days leading up to our final moment of truth.

Calvin Chu has travelled from Waterloo, Ontario to San Francisco, California to Shenzhen, China all to develop his startup, Palette. What started as a fourth year design project during Calvin's Mechatronics degree at the University of Waterloo quickly grew into an international entrepreneurial pursuit.

Palette is a freeform, tactile interface that gives hands-on control of your favourite software.

Palette is a hardware platform made up of a variety of modules that lets you build a physical interface customized to your personal needs. Each module has a single physical input, like a button, dial or a slider. You snap together modules like Lego, no coding or soldering required!

As an English major, working at the Conrad Business Centre had its share of challenges. Surprisingly enough, what I was challenged by the most was the business terminology everyone used. As my Co-op term comes to an end, I’d like to share with you how working here has demystified some simply mysterious terms for me. On top of that, I would like to talk about my experience working alongside this year’s cohort of Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET) students.

Ecosystem. When I first came to Conrad, I heard this word a LOT. Actually, it was more like a phrase: “the entrepreneurial ecosystem” or “the Waterloo ecosystem”.

Imran is different. Are you?

To cap off Global Entrepreneurship Week, we are happy to share a video of young entrepreneur Imran Jiwa. Imran, a University of Waterloo undergraduate student studying Arts and Business, has a strong entrepreneurial spirit, which naturally led him to the Conrad Centre. Imran is currently enrolled in Conrad’s BET300: Foundations of Venture Creation course, an introductory undergraduate course that guides students through processes of turning an idea into a venture. Course instructor, Wayne Chang, noticed Imran’s talent early on.

Clearpath is different. Are you?

Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET) alumnus Matt Rendall launched his startup company Clearpath Robotics during his time at the Conrad Centre. He continues to keep the company’s entrepreneurial spirit alive by hiring fellow MBET graduates.

Clearpath Robotics is the leading employer of MBET graduates. We have reached out to each alumnus and asked them how obtaining an MBET and working at Clearpath has helped them to reach their career goals.

Melissa Young Sing

Previous Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET)student, Melissa Young Sing, recently sent us an e-mail after finding an unexpected note while she was packing up her room. This note was a list of goals Melissa had written at the beginning of her year as an MBET student.

Believing in the value proposition of this note, Melissa wanted us to pass this along to prospective and current MBET students. She even included a picture of her hand-written note. Having forgotten that she even wrote these goals down, finding this artefact was a pleasant surprise. Here is what the list included.

Last week I was invited to attend my first ever recruitment event: Re:Engineering Leadership, which took place at Waterloo on Tuesday, October 1 from 5:00 – 8:30 p.m. in E5. This was a graduate studies fair where hopeful Engineering students thinking of graduate studies were able to ask questions and get more information.

What made this event really cool, though, was the fact that there were four other schools in attendance, all named Canada’s top engineering destinations: University of Alberta, University of British Columbia, McGill University, and University of Toronto.

I first came across the MBET program in 2009 while I was doing an online search for graduate programs in entrepreneurship. Having attained Graduate Business Education (MBA) before, MBET initially struck me as any other graduate business degree, but after reading more about it, I was intrigued.

When I eventually came on board in September 2012, I brought with me my industrial experience, previous education, and a firm desire for formal, hands-on entrepreneurial education in an institution like The University of Waterloo that represents a global brand in learning, research and innovation.

I have been fortunate enough to go through Enterprise Co-op (E Co-op) this past term (January through April) and start my own business – ‘Counter Intuitive’. We distribute 1.5” thick glass countertops.  If you are wondering why you would ever want a countertop made out of glass, I suggest you check out the Counter Intuitive website! There were a number of lessons I learned along the way that I will share, as some of them may be helpful to you if you’re about to go through E Co-op, or just thinking of starting your own business.